This blog includes postings by students in Mr. Buxton's sixth grade language arts classes and Mrs. Westall's seventh grade students. A link to Mr. Buxton's postings is on the right side of the screen.

Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Odysseus and the Serpent Maze by Jane Yolen

I would give this book three out of five stars. Odysseus in the Serpent Maze is a book about a young Greek hero named Odysseus and his adventures as a young boy. Odysseus is on a visit with his grandfather, and goes on a hunt for a boar. He tries to be a hero, and although the boar injures him, Odysseus contributes greatly to the hunt. When he is going back home to Ithaca, a storm throws him and his friend, Mentor, overboard only to be captured by pirates. Odysseus escapes the ship, and meets the satyr Silenus on an island where Mentor happened to be taken to by the pirates. Odysseus saves him, and also meets Helen of Sparta and her cousin, Penelope. They escape the island, and stumble upon Daedulus’ automatic ship which takes them to Crete. Odysseus and his companions find Daedulus’ workshop, where they battle a bronze watchdog. However, they are captured by the Cretan prince and are thrown into the Labyrinth, where Odysseus kills Ladon, the hundred-headed snake.This book is filled with action, and Odysseus’ adventures are thrilling, yet it sometimes gets boring at the parts when he fights and solves everything, so often and with so little struggle, like how he just punched the prince and he let Odysseus go. However, if you like mythology and stories of Greek heroes, this book would be entertaining. The book is also relatively short, with a quick story and does not contain much character growth.